How to do good at Christmas

Volunteer or donate to help those less fortunate

Christmas is a time for exchanging gifts, sharing food and spending time with family. But there are many who are less fortunate and less able to celebrate, from those sleeping rough over the festive period to elderly people living alone.

If you want to do some good this Christmas, by donating your time or money, we've a long list of ways you can help out those in need.

Give charity gifts

Too many people do tit-for-tat giving at Christmas. The usual result? Unwanted tat. Instead, give a gift to charity in someone's name – then you know your money is actually paying for something useful.

From helping to save lives with vital vaccines to buying livestock for villagers, this is our rundown of charity gifts, including how much of the donation goes to good causes. All the organisations below offer a customisable card or gift card that'll tell the recipient what you've paid for on their behalf.

If you've spotted something else we should include, let us know in the Charity Gifts forum thread.

Will my money definitely fund the gift I choose?

Charities have taken to selling specific charity gifts as a way of making donations more tangible. Yet whether you'll actually give the item you've chosen depends on the charity – some will simply allocate the money to a related area, or spend it wherever it's most needed. We've explained below what each charity's policy is.

Alternatively, you can just make a regular donation. If you want to give a direct donation to charity on somebody else's behalf, be sure to use Gift Aid – see below for the full lowdown.

UK taxpayers making online donations always have the option to include Gift Aid. This allows charities to claw back your tax from HM Revenue & Customs on one-off and regular donations, meaning your donation's increased by 25% or more.

All the charity needs is your name, address and a declaration that you're a UK taxpayer. As this can be verbal, it can also be done over the phone.

Your donations will qualify for Gift Aid as long as they're not more than four times what you've paid in tax (income or capital gains) that tax year – if you go over this limit, tell the charities you're supporting.

How much extra the charity gets from Gift Aid

Charities reclaim the tax at the basic 20% rate, which due to the way the numbers work means they get 25% more than you donate (so if you give £10, the charity gets £12.50).

Higher or additional-rate taxpayers need to make a claim to gift the full tax relief

Any higher-rate (40%) or additional-rate (45%) taxpayer who ticks the Gift Aid box will only see the charity get 25% more – as per the example above.

But they can reclaim the difference between the basic and higher rates (ie, 20% or 25%) on top of this – and if they choose to, they can then donate it.

For higher-rate taxpayers, on £10 that's another £2.50 (so £5 in total), and for additional-rate taxpayers, it's a further £3.12 (so a total of £15.62 from a donation of £10 – 56.2% on top of your original donation).

Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can claim the extra tax relief when filling in their self-assessment tax form, or if they don't do self-assessment, HMRC can change their tax code – contact HMRC and ask for a P810 form.

Save and change lives in communities around the world

Types of gifts: Polio vaccines for 100 children for £13.50, deliver a baby for £31.50 (provides midwifery equipment and medicines for a safe birth), help provide winter clothing for a Syrian child for £35 or health checks for 10 Syrian children for £25.

What does the charity get? Your donation provides the gift selected and covers the gift card costs, order processing etc. Occasionally, a substitute could be made based on need, such as measles vaccines instead of polio.

Gifts that can save lives in the developing world

Types of gifts: Buy four tree saplings for £12, five mosquito nets for £21 or an essential baby kit, which includes a washbowl, nappies, towels, a wrap, soap and warm baby cap for £33.

What does the charity get? When you buy a gift, your money goes towards projects within that theme, eg, education. For every £1 it gets, Save the Children spends 91p on its work to benefit children, 9p on fundraising and other costs.

Support village projects

Types of gifts: With Oxfam, you can pay to educate a child for £19, for a pile of poo for £12 (fertiliser for crops), provide safe water for 10 people for £30 or give a goat to supply a family with milk for £25. As with other livestock gifts, the goat gift also provides business training for the goat's new owners.

What does the charity get? Your donation will be spent on a related Oxfam project, for example, cash from water-themed gifts goes to one of its water and sanitation projects. For every £1 donated, 83p goes on projects, 10p on running costs and 7p on fundraising.

You can also spend Nectar points on a range of Oxfam Unwrapped Gifts – see full details.

Tackle the world's water crisis

Types of gifts: A mason to construct a family loo for £54, a bag of cement for a toilet base for £10 or a water hand-pump for £37.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, WaterAid spends 72p on delivering services to those in need, 27p on fundraising and 1p on running the charity. Your money goes towards its full range of projects, and isn't limited to the specific gift you choose.

Support women and children escaping domestic violence

Types of gifts: Refuge has two types of Christmas gift – a 'gift list' where donations are used to buy presents for women and children using its services this Christmas (such as a teddy bear for £10).

Alternatively you can buy refuge parcels, eg, a Christmas dinner parcel for £5, an emergency parcel for £10 or a safety parcel for £50, which includes home safety installations such as panic buttons, help understanding welfare and legal rights, and emotional support from the Refuge team. When you donate, you'll receive a thank you letter.

What does the charity get? Refuge is aiming to raise £30,000 this Christmas to provide support for all those using its services. Until that target is reached, every penny of your gift list donation goes directly to your chosen cause. Any funds left over will go towards the charity's running costs. For the refuge parcels, 79p out of every £1 donated goes directly to the charitable activity.

Help protect endangered species

Types of gifts: Adopt one of a range of animals, including elephants from £3/month, and receive regular updates on your chosen species, plus a cuddly toy.

What does the charity get? When you adopt an animal, the money goes towards conservation work for an individual animal or a small group (you won't be the only person who adopts that animal). For every £1 donated, 72p is used directly for conservation work and campaigns, 19p for fundraising and 9p on administration costs.

Help support the homeless

Types of gifts: Buy a homeless young person a Christmas dinner for £10, a Christmas gift for £13, a set of toiletries for £15, or a safe, comfy bed for the night for £35.

What does the charity get? 76p of every £1 raised is used to continue Centrepoint's work to support homeless young people, 23p is used for fundraising and 1p for running the charity. The gifts are real examples of the way your money could be spent, but donations are distributed across Centrepoint's work and used where needed.

Transform the lives of those living in poverty

Types of gifts: School books and stationery for a child for £9, a nanny goat to provide milk for £22 or a safe place to sleep for £20.

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 86p is spent on direct charitable work, 13p on fundraising and 1p on running the charity. Cash from gifts goes to projects within the relevant sector, eg, agriculture and livestock.

Help those in the developing world

Types of gifts: Fund a tailoring business in the developing world for £9, an hour's respite for parents of disabled kids for £15, a drought survival kit for £28 or provide deworming tablets for 1,000 children for £50.

What does the charity get? Good Gifts guarantees that all of your money will go to exactly what you've bought. Instead of charging a handling fee as it used to, it now uses Gift Aid donations to keep the site running.

Teach vital life skills and support new mothers

Types of gifts: Catholic aid agency CAFOD's gifts include an emergency shelter for a refugee family for £40, reading lessons for £10, a healthy mum and baby medical package for £30 or a happy queen bee for £4 (brings more bees to a hive, giving more honey).

What does the charity get? For every £1 donated, 81p is spent on international emergency and development work, 10p on fundraising and 9p on running the charity. Donations go towards funding projects in that gift's category (eg, education and skills training, or water and food) rather than to a specific gift.

Help out at a homeless centre

Homelessness charity Crisis is looking for volunteers to help run homeless centres in Birmingham, Coventry, Edinburgh, London, Oxford, Newcastle and south Wales. The centres provide meals, entertainment and learning opportunities for people living rough or sleeping in hostels over Christmas.

Crisis needs thousands of volunteers and although it started recruiting in October, your local one may still have places to fill. You don't need any qualifications or experience to be a general volunteer, but the charity is also looking for people with specific skills, eg, chefs, hair and beauty therapists, tutors and counsellors.

You can choose which shifts you'd like to do when you apply, but Crisis advises applying as early as possible to ensure you get the shifts you want. It says generally it asks volunteers to commit to a minimum of two shifts, but for some specific roles this may vary.

Don't live in one of these areas?

To find opportunities near you, search online for Christmas volunteering opportunities at homeless shelters or soup kitchens in your area. For example, when we checked, you could still sign up to volunteer with Caring at Christmas in Bristol.

Look out for elderly neighbours

Age UK, a charity focused on helping those in later life, has a number of suggestions for 'small acts of kindness' to help out older neighbours who might be feeling isolated, or need a hand with quick tasks. Here are a few examples – they're relevant to the Christmas period, but there's nothing stopping you keeping it up throughout the year:

Visit an older friend, relative or neighbour regularly. Research from Age UK shows that making the effort to keep in touch can make a big difference to older people, who may be stoical and reluctant to admit when they are struggling to cope.

Start a conversation. It might seem obvious but simply being friendly and prepared to stop for a chat can give a vital boost to someone who may not have another conversation that day.

Accompany your neighbour to an event. Christmas provides many opportunities for communities to get together, whether it's an event at a church, a Christmas market or a party. Strike up a conversation with someone in your street and see if they'd like to go.

Offer assistance on extreme weather days. As winter takes hold, the risk of extreme weather increases, making life hard for older people who might struggle to leave their homes as a result. Introduce yourself to a potentially vulnerable neighbour, and see if they need help with shopping or de-icing their drive, for example.

Give to a foodbank

December is the busiest month for foodbanks, with almost 50% more referrals from Citizens Advice and other organisations. Some foodbanks have already sorted collections for Christmas but there's a huge demand for donations in the New Year too – here's how you can help:

1. Check where you can donate

The Trussell Trust is one of the largest foodbank organisations in the UK – see a map of its locations.

You can also check your council's website for info about other foodbanks, while charities will often put alerts on social media if they're accepting donations.

Places of worship often run foodbanks or welcome donations, no matter what faith you are. And schools and even supermarkets run 'food drives', so check these too – they'll explain the type of produce they'll accept.

2. Use supermarket coupons to make cheap donations

If you want to give, but don't have much spare cash, check out our Supermarket Coupons page to see if you can get suitable items for free or at a discount. If you fancy, try your hand at a bit of extreme couponing, then give your haul away. There are often coupons available for food, as well as for essentials such as toothpaste.

Donate blankets to animal shelters

Sadly lots of unwanted pets will be spending Christmas in rehoming centres. You can support them by donating blankets, treats and toys.

To find a centre near you, search online for 'animal shelters' or 'animal rescue centres' in your area. They'll usually list online what donations they most need, or you can call and ask before you visit.

Plus if you're good with a knitting needle, Battersea Dogs & Cats Home has instructions on making blankets and mouse toys for cats.

Feed the hungry for free

On the Hunger Site – a 'click 'n' give' website where sponsors donate when you click – over 1.5 million cups of food were donated in November alone.

Click through and amid a pile of banners you'll see an orange button on the site's homepage. There's an emblazoned message: "Click to give – it's free!" Click on this link and its sponsors will donate some money to charity.

The logic behind this site is brilliant. It's a win-win-win situation for the hungry, the internet user and the sponsors. For companies it's a cost-effective, feel-good public relations exercise, especially powerful when helping to promote ethical brands.

Where does the food go?

The Hunger Site is a US site, and while two-thirds of donations go to alleviating hunger in the developing world, one third helps those within the US. Yet clicks from anywhere in the world count.

The food is distributed by non-profit partners such as Mercy Corps, a large US charity which provides aid in more than 40 countries. Last year visitor clicks paid for almost 19 million cups of food to be distributed.

Give blood

Giving blood can be an invaluable gift for someone you don't even know. Donations are needed year-round, but this can be a great way to do good at Christmas without having to spend any money.

Offer what you have to charity shops

From bras to Blu-rays, donating to charity shops is a fab way to declutter – and help good causes at the same time. So why not do a personal stocktake and donate anything you haven't used since last Christmas?

What charity shops will accept varies, though the examples below are typical. It's worth calling ahead to check if you're taking bulky items.

Oxfam can't accept computers, medical equipment or anything broken/dirty. Electrical goods that run off the mains are also a no-no (though it says a few shops do accept these, so please check before donating). See a full list of what it can and can't take.

British Heart Foundation. If you've electrical items to donate, the British Heart Foundation would be happy to take them off your hands. It also takes furniture with fire labels and will often collect goods from you. This is on top of the usual books, toys, clothes etc. See a full list, including collection details.

Cancer Research. It will also accept electrical items, though not white goods (it still advises to call ahead and check). Other donations welcomed include clothing, bed linen, homeware, books and mobile phones. See a full list.

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